Alex Thursby, ANZ's head of Asia-Pacific, Europe and America, reiterated in an interview with
Reuters that the bank wished to raise its stake in Malaysian group AMMB to 49 per cent if the Government increases the cap on foreign ownership.
Such a move would fit with ANZ's strategy for the region, and for its customers, Thursby said.
At present, ANZ holds 23.8 percent of AMMB. It may own up to 26.2 per cent, AMMB management said in a briefing for media on the group's profit yesterday.
Malaysia's Prime Minister, Najib Razak, told Reuters in March that he would consider allowing ANZ to raise its stake in AMMB to 49 per cent, from 24 per cent.
AMMB reported a rise in net profit of one-third in the financial year to March 2011, to RM1.34 billion from RM1.01 billion a year ago. As in Australia, lower expenses for bad debts explain most of the rise in profit.